Internal combustion engine



Jan- 30, 1 940. F. P. GRAHMAN INTERNAL coMeusTro'N ENGINE 4 sheets-sheet 1 Filed oct. 18, 1937 SW uvm@ AW m. WNNIWN, NYNoe H INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Jan. 30, 1940.` F. P. GRAHM'AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGrNEA 4 sheets-sheet 2 Filed Oct. 18. 1957 ATTOR N EYS Jan. 30,1940. F. P. GRAHMAN A INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed oct. 18, 19:57 4 sheets-sheet s lllll F.YP. GRAHMANY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Jan. 3o, i940.

Filed oct. 18, 19s? 4 sheets-'sheet l4 .www NN.

ATTORN EYS the Vline Patented Jan. 30, 1940 UNITED STATES rATENT NOFFICE:

1 Claim.

Vvision of a drive, consisting chiey of a main or ring gear mounted rigidly on a main or power 1 shaft and in mesh with a plurality of pinions operatively connected with pistons of power cyl- "inders, whereby a maximum number of power cylinders may be compactly arranged or grouped and permitting long strokes for the pistons of `the power cylinders, resulting in greater power development and making it possible for a complete piston power cycle on the four cycle principle of operation to each revolution of the main shaft or two complete power cycles on the two cycle principle of operation to each revolution of the main shaft.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an engine of the above stated character wherein compactness and accessibility of various parts will be paramount by having the power cyling fuel to the pairs of power cylinders for the ignition of the fuel therein and the detonating cylinders being supplied with fuel from the power cylinders during the compressing of fuel therein.

With these and other objects in view, this invention cons-ists in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described andclaimed. For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a vertical sectional view taken on I-I of Figure 2 and villustrating a compound drive detonating engine constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional viewvtaken -on the line 2-2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line `'I---III of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the une 5 5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6 6 of Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional View connected to the Vconnecting rods 2U.

trating one ofthe power cylinders and its piston. Figure 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken yon the line 8-8 of Figure 2. v

Figure 9 is a fragmentary sectional View taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 2.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating fuel ports between a pair of power cylinders and an intake manifold and showing a check valve therein. i

Figure 11 is a diagrammatical view showing the relative position of the pistonduring the two cycle operation of this engine.

Figure 12 is a fragmentary sectional View showing a modification of this invention.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral I indicates a center housing for enclosing a compound drive which includes a cylinder 3 and end walls 4 and 5 joined together by tubes 6 through which tie bolts 'l extend. Supported on the end walls 4 and 5 are power cylindersy 'grouped'in pairs and each pair vprovided with a head 9.` Head plates I engage theA heads 9 and have the tie bolts 'I extending therethrough so that the heads and head plates as well as the power cylinders will be kept assembled onl the center housing I. Thehead plates I0 and lend plates 4 and 5 have aligned bearings to rotatably support a hollow power ftakeoff shaft I2. The bearings carried by the end plates 4 and include stufng boxes'l3 of the adjustable type to engage with the power takeoff shaft.

The bearing of the end plate 5 receives a hub -I4 of a ring'gear I5, the latter being suitably secured on the power shaft. The bearing of .the end plate 4 is of sectional construction to rotatably support hubs I6 of gears I1 which mesh :with the ring' gear and on which are formed wrist pins I8. -The wrist pins are engaged by cross heads I9 and each cross head` has pairs of connecting rods v2Il secured theretoY which are in Q In this arlation, as clearly shown in Figure 6. The bearings for the power shaft are of the antifriction type. y 4

The pistons 2l are adjustably and detachably The adjusta-bility of the pistons permits various compression ratios to be obtained in the power cylinders. The pistons 2| and the heads cooperate in forming in the power cylinders firing chambers, The pistonshave fuel ports 22 in which by the cam ribs 3). construction that rapid movement will be irnare located spring seated check valves 23. The end plates 5 and 5 of the housing I carry an intake manifold 24 which communicates with the power cylinders 8 by ports 25 having spring seated check valves 25 therein. Each port 25 supplies a pair of power cylinders with fuel, as shown in Figure 10, between the skirt ends of the pistons and the end walls 4 and 5, the latter being provided with stuffing boxes 21 to receive the connecting rod so that fuel drawn into the power cylinders between the skirt ends of the pistons and the end wallsy 4 and 5 of the housing will be compressed during a portion of the power strokes of the pistons. It is to be understood that this engine operates on the two cycle principle and after the pistons have completed substantially their power strokes the pressure of the fresh fuel in the power cylinders between the skirt ends of the pistons and the end walls i and 5 will unseat the valves 23 and permit said fuel to enter the ring chambers of the power cylinder. During the initial movement of the fresh fuel into the firing chambers, the exhaust valves 28 of the power cylinders are open to permit spent gases in the firing chambers to escape. The exhaust valves 28 are closed during the compression and major portions of the power strokes of the pistons. It is to be understood that any type of carbureter is connected to the intake manifold 24 for the Vpurpose of supplying a low grade of fuel to the power cylinders.

Cam plates 29 are secured on the power takeoff shaft i2 and include cam ribs 30 and 3|. The exhaust valves are grouped in pairs and are engaged by rocker arms 32 pivotally mounted, as shown at 33. The rocker arms engage the cam The construction of the cam ribs 3i is such as to time the movement of the exhaust valves to exhaust spent gases from the firing chambers of the power cylinders when the latter begin to receive fresh gases from the intake manifold through the ports of the pistons.

Each cylinder head 9 carries a detonator cylin- `der 3d connected to the ring chambers of the pair of power cylinders of said head by fuel passages 35 and operable in the 'detonator cylinder is a detonating piston 36 spring pressed by a spring 31. The detonator pistons engage with rocker arms 31 which are pivotally mounted, as shown at 38. The rocker arms 31 are operated The cam ribs are of such va Ato be understood that the detonator cylinders are supplied with fuel from the firing chambers of the power cylinders during the compression strokes of the pistons. The detonator pistons advancing rapidly on their compression stroke bring about spontaneous combustion of the fuel in the detonating cylinders and the burning fuel is driven from the detonating cylinders by the detonating pistons thereby eliminating necessity of scavenging the detonator cylinder by some means other than the detonating piston.

In the construction of the engine described, the

A power pistons of each pair of power cylinders A'move in unison and on the same Cycle of operation and when a pair of pistons of a pair of power cylinders is on its power stroke the pair of pistons of the opposed pair of power cylinders will be on its compression stroke.

As the cycle of operation occurring in each pair of power cylinders is the same, in describing the operation of the engine only a pair of power cylinders will be referred to.

In operation, the power pistons of a pair of power cylinders moving in the direction of the head of said pair of power cylinders draws fuel into the power cylinders between the end plates v*of the housing and the skirts of the pistons and burning fuel reenters the firing chambers ofthe i firing cylinders and ignites the fuel therein to drive the power pistons on their power stroke and as the power pistons substantially complete their power strokes the fresh fuel forces open the check valve 23 and at the same time the exhaust valves are opened so that the incoming fresh fuel under compression will drive the spent gases outwardly to the atmosphere by way of the exhaust valves. As soon as the power pistons have completed their power stroke and start on their compression stroke the exhaust valves close.

The engine shown and described in detail in this application permits a'maximum amount of horse power to be developed with the use of a low grade of fuel with the overall dimension of" the engine reduced to a minimum. While the engine has been shown and described as emrployingdetonators for igniting the fuel, electrical ignition may be substituted for said detonators through a rearrangement of some minor parts of v the engine. Also the type of drive described may be readily adapted to engines operating on any kind of explosive fuel and on the ordinary Diesel principle or on the type employing electrical ignition.

The compression ratio employed within the power cylinders will be well below the detonation ofthe fuel while the compression ratio in the detonator cylinders will be high and sufficient to assure spontaneous combustion of the fuel'therein so that the burning fuel of the detonator cylinders can ignite the low'compressed fuel in the power cylinders. Each pair of power cylinders having the compressed fuel therein ignited from the burning gases form a single detonator cylinder which materially increases the compactness and eciency of the herein described type of engine.

Instead of employing the cross heads I3 a construction may -b'e used, as shown in Figure 12,1 -wherein the opposedpairs of pistons are shown with connecting' rods 4pivoted thereto and to a journal 4| mounted for rotation on the pini8 'of the gear I1.

When the structure as shown in Figure 1'?. is

'employed the engine will operate on a fourv cycle principle.

What is claimed is: In an engine of the type described, a pair of Vpower cylinders arranged in side by side relationf 73.

a piston operable in said cylinders and dividing each into a compression chamber and a ring chamber, a fuel supply means, a single fuel inlet valve communicating with the fuel supply means, said fue] inlet Valve having direct communication With each of the compression chambers, each firing chamber being provided with an exhaust Valve, each piston being formed with a fuel passage for eiecting communication between its respective compression and firing chambers, a check valve associated with each piston for closing its passage to eiect opening of said fue] intake valve to permit fuel to be drawn into the compression chamber upon movement of the piston in one direction and said check valve being operable to open the passage to` permit fuel to be introduced into the firing chamber from the compression chamber upon movement of the piston in an opposite direction and to effect closing of said fuel intake valve, a single detonator cylinder having communication With each of said ring chambers, a detonator piston operable in said last cy'linder for compressing fuel therein to ignite the same, and means for operating said detonator piston.

' FREDERICK P. GRAHMAN. 

